Psychosis
by ClosetCase
Summary: What's a few more survivors walking among the dead? It couldn't possibly be a game-changer. The ending should always be the same, right? Eventual Rick/OC. May contain some Spoilers. Rated for Adult Situations, Language, and Zombies.
1. Chapter 1

_Disclaimer: I only own the Characters you do not recognize from Walking Dead. Sadly.  
There will be** spoilers** for **all seasons and episodes**, as I will touch back on many events. Inspired and unable to avoid writing this after watching "The Suicide King", my spoilers will hopefully end from there. Otherwise, this is AU and I will not be following the story-lines (unless they follow mine first). Cheers and Enjoy!_

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Amy Adler took a swift drink of the bottled water, quenching her dried throat. They had been forced to leave their previous campsite rather quickly, along with many of their supplies. No longer did she have a small pot to boil water in to purify, or much of anything else. Uncertainty plagued her mind.

A few feet away from her stood her older brother, Sebastian. She could see the worry etched upon his brow and the look of despair he was attempting to hide. Much like their father once was Sebastian could never hide his real feelings; He was irrational at times and almost always sporting a frown.

"If you keep making that face, it'll stick—oh wait," Joey, their younger brother broke the silence.

Now a group of five, Amy recollected their previous moments. Jenna had been such a lovely woman, aged a wise fifty-two with limber legs and a sore back. She had taught Amy many things, like how to live and survive among strangers; how to avoid over-stepping your welcome, and even how to care for someone as if they were family. Now, Jenna Williams was nothing more than dead flesh back at their camp-site. It had all happened so fast, the dead had been upon them in the blink of an eye.

Sebastian had gripped her arms so tight they were now bruised, screaming for Joey and the others. Everyone had moved with a flourish, frightened and scared, but mostly ready to fight for their lives. Douglas, a strong dark man who had cared for Jenna before the outbreak, ran full force towards the only vehicle with her aging figure in tow. Amy had thought quickly and efficiently, directing her brother towards the car before searching for Joey and the last member of their group. He had been trapped inside his tent, crying out for anyone. Having been a year older than herself Amy felt a chill run through her at his shouts. How could something so awful be happening to them?

It was as she came to the front door of the tent that she saw the rotting human that was clawing its way in. The skin of its fingers was peeling back, revealing bone and blood and its face, oh how haunting its face was. Glassy eyes and sunken cheeks, she could hardly recognize it as a human anymore. Amy swallowed hard and reacted quickly, freeing a heavy knife from her belt and forcing it into the awaiting skull. At first there was resistance, and Amy worried she wasn't strong enough to stop the snarling monster, but with a little more drive in her elbows she found herself sinking down atop of the creature as it lay silent below her.

Jake sprang forth from the tent then, blue doe eyes taking her and the scene in. "Thank you" he breathed out.

It was then that Sebastian had come for her once more, ushering her and Jake towards the rolling vehicle. She spotted Douglas behind the wheel almost instantly, and found Joey at his side. But where was Jenna?

"Wait! Wait!" She had tried to call, but found the car-door slamming in on her before she had a chance to escape.

They had told her on the way out what had transpired. Jenna had stumbled, a misfortune that ended her life as one attacker descended upon her before Douglas had any time to turn around. It was impossible to of saved her, they all agreed, but the grief had not been any less.

"We need to find food—Supplies," Douglas interrupted the quarrelling brothers and brooding sister. "Everything is at the site."

Jake leaned his body forward, shifting uncomfortably on the rock he was sitting. Nervously he fidgeted with the flattened coal hair atop his head, trying to brush it away from his pale green eyes. With rather small features compared to his large lips, Jake looked much like a cartooned boy rather than the man he really was. "We can go back…"

"There is **no** going back," Amy interrupted firmly, "we move on, Jake. There is no other option."

Looking slightly put-out, Jake got to his feet and puffed out his chest. With such a deep voice, he could have ordinarily intimated the lean woman of only five foot six. Frightened her into thinking he was stronger than his thin awkward limbs would have her first believe, but Amy knew him well. In fact, Amy knew all of them well-enough. If they returned to that camp, there would be no more surviving. Only death.

For this reason she quickly deduced they would need somewhere new, an area with plenty of supplies and safety; something that would give them shelter from not only the monsters, but themselves.

"We need to find a town, first." Amy explained, "Pick up little things. Only what we can carry. Then…"

"And then what?" Jake hissed, "We get eaten like Jenna?"

"Hey man, you watch that mouth! We don't need that kind of disrespect" Douglas warned, moving to step into the much shorter and much younger man's space. Jake quickly threw his hands up in defense and dropped his shoulders. It was obvious the other man was not ready to deal with any form of dissention within their group. "Carry on A.J."

Swallowing Amy looked down at the water bottle in her hands. So far her brothers had been quiet, but she knew when she voiced the rest of her plan the complaints would be many; Too many for Douglas to silence and too many for himself not to join.

"We find a bunker—a bank—something with a safe, like—like a big locked door to keep us and _them_ separated." Silence followed for a moment before all hell broke loose.

First to start was Jake, whose mouth had already been at the ready before Douglas had time to interfere once more and next was Joey; who openly complained that their father would be appalled with that idea. Third was Douglas who voiced, "And where the hell are we going to find 'a bunker'?" and last was Sebastian.

Sebastian. Who looked most like their mother with his sea blue eyes and coppery brown locks, who carried her maternal fashion sense of flattery and maintained wearing pale coloured button-up shirts that always made his eyes 'pop'. Sebastian, the man who reacted with his gut and first instinct and who was never afraid of letting you know if you were being foolish or pissing him off, was the last to speak.

"And what if there are more in this town? How will we handle them? How are we expected to get there with no fuel, no food and barely any water left?"

"Come on Sebastian, we're survivors! **Survivors**! We don't go down without a fight, right?"

"Our supplies are back there. How can we go forward without them?"

Pushing herself up into the air to stand on her own feet, Amy stomped a foot in the ground and narrowed her amber eyes on the group. "We go forward just like we did when we first started!"

The men grumbled slowly, as if slowly chewing on her words. As much as their hearts ached to return to Jenna, to the simplicity they had only hours ago, they were quickly realizing this was not in their cards. "So we go," She decided, "we go, and we survive!"


	2. Chapter 2

_Thank you for the review [Leyshla Gisel], favs(s) and follow(s). You're all the sweetest, and I can't wait to post the third chapter. (#4 is in progress as you read)_

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Douglas stumbled and nearly fell to his knees along the dirt path. His dark hair had begun growing back, covering his once bald head in fine little hairs that itched in the sweltering heat. His jaw line had even collected a fine thick line that groomed and settled around his pouted lips. He was thirsty and no longer could contain his grumpiness towards the lack of food in his belly. The water had run out the previous night and it appeared they were no closer to their destination.

With no town in sight, only a line of trees the group grew weary and distraught. Amy worried for her brothers, who had bumped shoulders and refused to walk in-step with each other after. Even Jake had begun to make quiet noises of irritation whenever he looked in her direction. Though this she accounted to the empty water bottle that hung tied to the belt loop of her pants by a loose thread she had ripped from the red scarf around her neck.

"We better find something soon," Douglas gulped and took another wipe at his head. "Or I may start drinking my own sweat"

"Ew," Amy made a face, scrunching her lips and nose together. "That's disgusting."

"Your face is disgusting." Joey threw over his shoulder, "Fuck, I'm hungry!"

The group all acknowledged each other before laying eyes on Joey's retreating back. Usually Sebastian was the one to snap at the language from his brother, but it appeared this time, all were in agreement. If they didn't find something soon, they'd be resorting to desperate measures. "I vote we eat you first" Amy spat out, unable to help herself.

Joey halted in his step, causing Sebastian to tumble into him and the others to stop short. "What the hell J.J.?"

"Look!" The youngest Adler sibling shouted with glee, pointing towards a trail that led to someone's backyard. "I think we're close! We're close!"

Travelling towards the wired fence the group began to get a closer look of someone's ajar backdoor. Windows had been left open and if it weren't for the sun shining, it would have been impossible to see inside. It appeared everything had been left untouched, aside from the opened entrances.

Douglas offered to go first, scaling the fence and landing silently on the green grass. Withdrawing a hunting knife from his belt holster he moved forward, scanning the area before moving inside. The four waited in silence until their friend appeared and gave them a loud "It's safe!" before they moved to join him.

"There's some canned food," he started as he led them into a small living room. "And water in the fridge kitchen. I'm going to look at the bedrooms, see if I can find a change of clothes"

Amy quickly fled to the kitchen with her brothers, desperately searching each individual cabinet until she found a cup to fill with water. Joey had already grabbed a hold of some canned food, cracking into it haphazardly with a stolen butter knife that barely dinted the lid the first few tries. With the cup emptied after two mouthfuls, Amy looked to her left to examine Sebastian.

He was definitely thinner than she had ever seen him since the whole world had gone to shit. Wrinkles were becoming more prominent upon his forehead, his thick eyebrows doing nothing to hide them any longer. Usually shaven and baby-faced he now sported a thin red beard that was being coated in water that dripped over from the cup at the rate he was drinking. Pausing in his ministrations only when he noticed his sister looking, Sebastian placed the cup down on the counter and turned to face her.

"What's going on A.J.?"

"I was just thinking about Dad… and how I never really asked him why he gave us all the same middle name"

Joey snorted and thusly choked on his bite of ravioli, digging back into the metal can. After a forced swallow of the food he spoke up, "So he could actually remember something!"

Sebastian sent a swift punch to his brother's shoulder then jabbed a finger into his chest, "Dad was just fine at remembering, if you recall, he always remembered how **you** broke the lamp but **he** took the blame for it."

"OH god," Amy laughed as she thought back on the fond memories of childhood, "Mother was so upset with him; fed him green beans for a week!"

"As if that was punishment for him," Joey added with a smile. "He just slathered 'em up with garlic"

Sebastian let slip a smile before the frown returned once more. His eyes darkening as he turned away from his siblings to resume drinking his water, "Why don't you two go check out the rest of the place… find out what Jake's doing, maybe."

Taking up on her brothers tone of voice Amy jerked her head at Joey to signal their departure. In the living room the siblings made their way through the house, each determining the occupants had in fact vacated with little belongings.

"Hey, uhm… A.J.? How are you holding up?" Joey asked as he fiddled with photo albums.

"Me?" She answered while pulling open a side-table drawer filled with papers and a phone book, "I'm okay… How are you doing?"

Joey slowly placed the album down onto the small coffee table. "I'm… worried."

Amy quickly turned to face her younger sibling. Having only a four year difference between herself and Joey, Amy had always had a conflicting relationship with him; neither spoke openly, but rather in the customary rivalry battle they had setup from early childhood. Compared to her easy relationship with Sebastian and the nine year difference there, Amy had always believed that Joey would just… never speak of his true feelings to her.

"What if things never get better… I mean, what if we're always trying to—to survive."

Amy swallowed to relieve her suddenly dry throat. She had no answer for him, no way to soothe his fears and after losing count of the days, no way to tell him that there was an end in sight. In truth, she didn't know if she believed there was an end anymore but if she had to believe for him, she would. He was her brother and if these were his real feelings, his real worries and concerns, nothing on this earth would stop her from helping him.

"Things **will** get better. We're Adler's, and nothing will stop us from seeing the end of this. From being the victors"

Joey forced a smile on, trying desperately in his mind to capture and hold onto his sisters words. "You always were the stronger one, you know… Whenever you hurt yourself, you never cried. Dad always said you were his little soldier."

She couldn't help the smile that came from his words. Thumbing her way back to the drawer she scanned through more papers until she came across a small detailed map. "Hey, J.J. look at this!"

Slowly her brother moved into her line of sight, examining the piece of paper before shrugging it off. "What good is a map?"

"Are you serious?" She questioned him honestly before striking his dumbfounded look away with the paper, "Joey! It's a god damn map! We're trying to find a safe spot! This tells us where everything is! No more aimless wandering!"

"What the hell is with all this shouting?" Douglas appeared at the foot of the stairs, tying a grey scarf around his neck. Having come down from the bedrooms upstairs, Douglas had changed into a clean pair of dark pants and covered his torso in a greying long-sleeved shirt, expectant of showing off to his group but instead finding the overzealous siblings.

"It's a map!" Amy shouted with her face lit up in glee; her usually thinned cheeks becoming rounded out to illuminate her amber eyes. "It's a map! A map!"

Douglas bounded over, drawing upon her excitement as he snatched the map from her hands to examine it. "This is just what we needed!"

Excitement coursed throughout her, "Sebastian! Jake! Come here!" she yelled.

Sebastian was the first to appear, his long face draw in confusion as he examined all three occupants. As Douglas explained their find to him, Jake came fumbling into the house, slamming the doors behind him and rushing to close each window.

"Monsters! Things! Lock up!" he cried.

The group jumped into action like a tightly coiled spring, each moving couches and tables to block the doors and closing the windows up. "What the hell are we doing inside?" Joey asked.

"We're surrounded" Jake answered as he began searching for anything to use as a weapon. Douglas flattened his back against the wall and held his breath for a moment. "How many?"

"Too many"

Frantic Douglas looked to the others for support; his jaw tightening as he realized it was fight or be killed. Soon frantic banging and moans came from the doors, distorted faces and fingers appearing at the windows. Adrenaline told him to leap forward, rip open the doors and begin to attack, but a soft hand on his shoulder held him still.

Amy was quick to take over, her mind toiling over the situation at warped speed. Holding firmly to Douglas' broad shoulders she squeezed down to his muscle and felt the firm bicep. He was flexing in anticipation of the battle, and she knew with a quick trigger finger there would be a wide defenseless gap.

In the corner closest to the front door stood Sebastian, gun between his palms and gripped in his whitening knuckles. Closer to him but farthest from the window stood Jake, the only one still defenseless. He had never been good with weapons, but his own two feet never let him down. Then lastly there was Joey, who gripped at his long chestnut coloured locks that fluffed at the top of his head like a pillow. Amy knew he always carried a gun and a small pocket knife on him, but he looked to be in flight-mode.

"Where are the exits, D?" Douglas, who usually hated the shortening of his name, chose his battle in answer. "Only windows upstairs—and the doors—"

"Where do the windows face?"

"I—don't know—I don't know!" he tried only to have the young woman shake him desperately, "D—we need to know. Do they face another house or do they face the street?"

"H-house!" He confirmed.

"Right—" She quickly thought out her plan, all while maintaining eye contact with her eldest sibling. "Then upstairs, show us the window"

"Are you stupid? Locking us upstairs is a death sentence, Amy!" Jake snapped.

"It's an escape, _Jake!_" Amy hissed back, narrowing her eyes on the frightened man. If he didn't look so much younger than he really was, perhaps she would have cut him less sympathy. Perhaps he never would have joined their group in the first place; maybe Sebastian would never have taken a shine to him, and maybe Douglas would have never vouched for him. Perhaps, but Amy knew better than to let her anger take over.

If it weren't for Jake, they never would have known there were monsters outside. They would have been set upon before they had any idea what was happening. Just like at the camp-site. It would have been Jenna all over, and Amy was not going to allow herself to lose anyone else. These boys were tough, whiney and family.

"Please" she begged, "trust me."

Sebastian grunted beside him, hurrying him to make up his mind and climb the stairs that Douglas had just come down from. Almost all at once windows were smashed and glass rained down onto the carpeted floors. Joey had rushed himself up the stairs, along with Jake while the other three waited a moment too long downstairs.

"Do you know what you're doing?" Sebastian waited for a nod before he was firing a shot off into the forehead of their pursuers. "Then we go. Together."

Douglas, who had seemed to have grabbed a hold of his self, climbed the stairs last, prepared to attack anything or anyone that came up after them. When they were up in the U-shaped hallway, it was Douglas' turn to take the lead. The window in question was rather large with a queen bed tucked just underneath it. It looked as if no one had ever lived inside the room before, and Sebastian accounted that to it most likely being a guest room.

He wondered what it would have been like to have a guest room, or even an extra bed. When he was sixteen, he could remember a three-year old Joey being moved in to share his room. It was done to make space for their grandmother, who had been suffering from hip issues and was finally ready for "Family help".

How awful it had been, as Joey often wet his own bed and would crawl into Sebastian's for comfort. It took him many years of complaint before his mother decided it best that Joey and Amy shared a room. That lasted until he was finally out at University, and then the youngest Adler's were finally given separate living quarters. Then he missed his younger brother and the little bunny that he carried everywhere, who would sniffle and cry when he spilled his Sippy-cup. It was as if he had traded his baby brother for an ignorant roommate.

"Sebastian?" suddenly Amy was snapping her fingers before her brother's eyes, desperate to get his attention quickly. "We need to jump—there's a fence below, so we have to be careful."

"Jump?" Sebastian blinked away his daze and quickly recognized that both Jake and Joey were already outside, Douglas on his way out.

"It's easy," She coached as she ushered him to climb up on the bed, "Put both legs over and slide out. If you keep your body straight you won't hit the fence"

"What about my legs?" Sebastian dumbly questioned before he realized his stupidity. Of course his legs didn't matter in the scheme of things. If the monsters got upstairs before they were out of the house, it was broken legs or death. "Right. Never-mind. You go first"

Amy swallowed as she hiked her legs over the windows ledge. Nerves fluttered through her and her stomach clenched tightly. She could only see Douglas now, his dark chocolate skin shining in the evening light. He was like a beacon to her, calling her towards safety and promising that all would be OK.

"GO!" Sebastian suddenly screamed behind her and all at once she was falling. Her body felt suspended for only a brief second before pain was shooting up her legs and into her spine. Winded and temporarily blinded, Amy fell to the side and slumped on the ground. She heard something heavy hit the ground beside her before arms were scooping her up and lugging her off.

Had she hurt herself?


	3. Chapter 3

_And here starts my wicked mind. Please, hold onto your favorite characters and be prepared for some good old-fashioned zombie-fun!  
Also, who else is excited for the next episode? On in my time-zone in 10 minutes. So go watch and come read! Maybe I'll double-update as a treat. :)_

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Sebastian exhaled heavily as he forced himself on ahead, his sister staring up at him from his arms. Her eyes were wide with a haze, her lips slightly parted and cracking from dehydration. Sebastian tried his best not to take in the look of shock on her face; he was too concerned with getting out of the streets.

A gun shot fired through the air, the noise startling him to leap to the right. To his left a body hit the ground, a brilliant red pouring out onto the cement. His stomach lurched as he took in the greened flesh and patches of greyed hair that hung off the monsters skull. It looked as if it were shedding its skin, and there all around it in a halo effect were pink squishy looking pieces of brain and tissue.

"Get a move on!" Douglas called out to him, his head jerking around in each direction. "They're coming!"

Indeed they were, Sebastian noted as more creatures stumbled and grappled their way towards them. It had been so long since he had blocked out thoughts of these creatures fates, and yet staring at the dead body on the ground next to him, he couldn't help but feel an intense sorrow building up within him. They had been human, once. They had had families and friends; they had worried about jobs and bills, just like he once had. Now they were monsters, taken over by fever or bites that had them desperate for a piece of human flesh. It was sick; where were their feelings? What about their memories? Where had their humanity gone?

"Hurry the fuck up!" Joey screamed, his face appearing to Douglas' left. In his hand he held a thin board that looked to of been broken off from a chair, in his left a small gun that would do nothing but call more hoards towards them.

"Sebastian?" Amy called in a daze, her head rolling around her shoulders.

Putting his feet into action, Sebastian bolted forward, grateful that he had dedicated most of his life to soccer and scholarships. When he caught up to Douglas he quickly picked Jake out from a crowd, his hands swinging desperately out in front of him to fight off his attackers. "Get into the store!" Douglas cried to the others as he ran to help.

Joey felt his heart hammering against his chest as he swung the chair's arm into the corpses head, barely watching the weapon as it crushed into the side of the skull and pushed its eye closer to its nose. His siblings rushed past him and into a small corner store, the brother's eyes connecting for only a moment.

Turning on his heel, Joey ran to help Douglas fight off Jake's attackers, arm swinging with as much force as his muscles would allow. A single man went down, his jaw swinging and snapping at its prey. Hands enclosed around Joey's arm, jerking the meat forward before a heavy brown work-boot came down on its head. Stomp after stomp, Douglas kicked at the man until his features were no more.

Still there were too many and the men fell back as one, six pairs of feet running in synch. The small corner store's door was thick and covered by metal bars, a sign that they had dealt with many robberies in its opening years. Inside there were aisle shelves pushed up against the walls, and torn bed sheets thrown over the floors. Dried blood had collected towards the check-out machine, a sign that a body had been dragged.

Then there, in the middle of the store sat Sebastian and Amy, the former rushing around to check for anymore monsters. He was quick on his feet as he pulled the blinds down and kicked open the bathroom doors, gun drawn as if he were a police official. Joey would have normally laughed, but now was no laughing matter.

"Are any of you bitten? Jake?" Amy asked from the floor, hands trying to hold her shaky body up in a kneeling position.

"Jesus Christ, A.J. what happened?" Joey cried as he moved forward to examine her. She smiled sweetly in return, waving off his ministrations; "I just fell wrong."

"I-I'm clear" Jake spoke up after patting himself down, "they didn't get me."

"Fuck kid, next time you do that shit, have something on you" Douglas nervously laughed as he himself began examining Joey's arms and legs as a precautionary double-check. "Alright, you're good. Check me"

Doing as told Jake began to lift cloth and examine the others man's skin, taking note of a small scratch that lay just under his ribcage but dismissing it as non-infection related. When finished, Jake stepped back and nearly sunk in on himself. There were still constant noises from the outside, and as Sebastian returned to tell them it was safe inside they began to hear the cracking of glass. "Nowhere is safe"

"We'll be fine," Joey tried to calm his friend before turning to his sister for reassurance, "Right Amy?"

Still dazed and paralyzed by the shooting pain that was taking over her back, Amy could only plaster on a smile and keep her palms flat on the ground. Her teeth were beginning to grind into each other from the force of her locked jaw. Jake seemed to take notice of this and moved to sit against her, stretching an arm over her shoulder to keep her righted.

He remembered the first time he had met the Adler siblings. It was while he had been trying to steal a car to get out of Georgia, desperate to run away and forget about everything. Jake's way of escaping the panic that had filled the news-stations with rubbish. Some garbage about people reanimating that he hadn't believed until strangers on the street began closing in on him. Their eyes had a ghost-like effect, and a deep guttural moan that shook him to his core. What were once regular people were suddenly sick, angry and hungry animals with wild actions.

Knocked onto his back, Jake had been stunned and unable to react before his saviour had appeared. Amy, with wild hair and a baseball bat had furiously beat the back of the poor soul until their fingers stopped twitching. Blood decorated the streets and dyed her white pants a creamy pink. What a way to be saved.

Second was Joey, looking young and immature with a small goatee and thick eyebrows. He had pulled Jake out of the way, and proceeded to lead them into the back of a white commercial van. At the time he had only thought about himself; who were these strangers and why were they killing people out in broad daylight on the streets and what was to happen to him?

Then Sebastian had cleared everything up. Taking the wheel of a white commercial van, he had helped his siblings and Jake escape to the open road. He had explained that the broadcast had been all over every television station, warning everyone to stay clear of those infected; to report to a hospital immediately for quarantine if they were bitten or scratched and if you weren't, to go to a 'safe-zone' closest to you. However it was all a ruse, and soon the military had been shooting up citizens on the street. Breaking into houses and killing those who were foolish enough to stay in the open. The Adlers had only been in town on vacation, and now, Jake thanked his lucky stars for them.

Now when Jake looked at the brunette female, he recognized the weakness spilling over her features. The fall had injured her more than she wanted to let on, and while she could always find a way to hold her own, he knew there would be concerns. What if she slowed them down?

"How bad is it?" he whispered into her ear. Slyly eyeing the group as they collected themselves and tended to the frail windows panes, he made sure no one would overhear.

Amy's eyes locked on his and allowed a moment to pass between them. In that second he could see how awful she felt, and felt how much she needed him to cover her. The group would only hold back on running if they knew she needed rest, and that would only leave them vulnerable.

"It's just my back," she informed him, "I—I just need to—work through it"

He knew what he had to do and he only hoped he would not regret his decision. "Then we carry on and worry about it later, right?"

"Right" her head bowed. "Thank you…"

Gently moving away from her, Jake tried to distance himself. As worried as he was about her, he knew nothing would stop Amy from moving on. "There's a back entrance!" Sebastian suddenly bounded back into the main room, "I don't know what's out there, but it's our only bet!"

"What about after? Just keep running until we're in the middle of town with no idea where to go?" Douglas asked.

"The map! We can use the map!" Joey recalled, "Douglas, you had the map last!"

As if a light bulb had flashed over-top his head, Douglas began digging through the deep pockets of his blue-jeans. In a desperate search for the little piece of paper, everyone held their breath until it was flashed in the air like a guiding light. All at once the group felt hope spring forth as routes and locations began to become clearer.

"There are a few back-alleys… we can carry our way through town with this"

Sebastian nodded his head and began scavenging the store, picking up bags of chips that were easily pushed into his back pockets when deflated of air and stealing a few bottled waters that he tossed to each group member. "Then let's start before they get through the windows"

Amy, who gingerly pushed herself up to her feet, loudly clapped her hands together to get the groups attention. "Time to get to work!" she chuckled.

By the time the group had made it to the back door, with their pants pockets stuffed and bulging, the windows began to rain glass. Heads were poking in with jaws mashing away at the air. The sight reminding Amy of a book she had once read where the evil witch had rows and rows of razor sharp teeth that ate and squished little tiny metal spiders between them.

The heavy metal door slammed behind them, the noise echoing off the brick walls surrounding them. Their footsteps were quick, though Amy could feel her thighs aching. They dodged and forced their way through the streets, having little to no time to take in the scenery. When Douglas finally led them towards another alleyway, the sight of trees and dirt roads again became clear.

With an overzealous attitude and burst of energy, Jake took to the open, arms stretched out to imitate a child playing helicopter. Still he continued to run, but with a gleeful laugh that had the others questioning his sanity.

"Where are you going?" Sebastian shouted ahead to him.

"Where ever his crazy feet take him?" Douglas kidded.

The group carried on, unable to stop until the fear of being eaten alive had subsided and by that time a towering fence had taken over the trees. The barbed wire hung at the top, curled in a fearsome circle that warned any onlookers to stay away. Few of the monsters loitered about the fence, hands clutched at the ringlets as if they smelled a feast waiting inside. Others turned to stare at the newcomers, and shamble over.

Jake, who had kept himself ahead of the group, began to backtrack. Where the hell had they ended up?

"It is a prison" Douglas spoke in awe, "A prison"


	4. Chapter 4

_How was last nights episode? I won't say anything more, just in case someone hasn't quite caught up; but they did a few things I was expecting and some that I most certainly wasn't.  
Cheers to the Dixons though!_

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Stunned for barely a moment the group allowed the monsters to descend before Amy was shouting and pushing her bruised body forward to tackle her brother Joey out of harm's way. The action was lost however, when the young blonde woman missing a piece of her shoulder fell atop of them. Her teeth tried desperately to enclose around any part of Amy's body that it could get at. The young brunette screamed and howled for help, unable to twist her body around for protection and instead having to rely on her brother beneath her to hold the shoulders of the attacker at arm's length.

The scene was chaotic and it felt like a lifetime had passed before Jake had stepped up to kick the blonde monster off of his friends, his boot connecting with its shoulder creating a top-heavy tumble effect. When hitting the grass it reacted quickly, and Joey was once again grappling with the beast to keep it from locking its jaws on them.

Their cries carried out into the trees and over the greenery of the prison's lawn. It wasn't until three gunshots cried out that the madness came to a violent end. Amy lay frozen on her brother's chest, heart nearly running itself to death. She could feel her blood thickening in her veins and her muscles clenching even tighter than they originally were.

Below her lay Joey whose muddy eyes were glassing over with fresh tears. He had almost died with nothing but a holey grey shirt and thick ugly brown coat. He had almost died with nothing to show, nothing to take to the other-side. Maybe there was no 'other-side'. Maybe that was why these monsters were coming back in the first place; cursed to rise from their eternal slumbers to hunt the living. It was like something straight out of a Stephen King novel. But there he lay, frightened and too scared to release the corpse's skinny wrists.

He could feel the rubbery skin underneath his clenched fist, the bone nearly snapping in half from the force he was issuing it. This _thing_ had tried and very nearly killed him.

"Hey, are you two okay?" Sebastian was shouting, unable to contain himself as he ran his hands over his sibling's bodies to ensure their physical state. "It didn't get you, right?" He was shaking visibly.

Joey was easily reminded of the first time he had seen his brother so shaken. It had been one of those days where their mother just had to have everything tidy and perfect, and so helped the soul who tried to eat the pot roast before every guest arrived. How badly he had wanted that pot roast, craved the rich gravy sauce that he would smother the juicy beef in. Even the carrots, roasted in butter and green onion sent his senses into over-drive. Yet he had been denied for his brother was returning home from University, and bringing along a female guest for 'show and tell'.

Then finally when the doorbell had rung and his patience had reached a head, his mother eagerly ushered everyone to their sets and ran toward the door. Instead of her son and a pretty little blonde however, was a uniformed officer. Arms crossed before his chest and a deep scowl set in place. Beside him was Sebastian, a look of utter terror and hopelessness. The rest of the evening had been a blur of disagreements and shouting, for which the youngest Adler children were sent to bed early. Yet Jake still pictured his brothers features from that day, and credited it to looking just like the one he was seeing right now.

"Don't scare me like that again," he whispered and brought the two into a bone crushing hug. "Please be more careful, please"

Amy steeled herself as she felt the wet tears of Joey on her back, and heard the silent sobs that Sebastian tried to withhold. "We're okay."

"We—we have to keep moving—more will come" Jake breathed as he stood over the siblings, eyes darting about. "We—we have to keep going"

Sebastian nodded a reply, moving to his feet and eyeing the prison once more. "How do we get in?"

All eyed the sturdy looking fence, searching for anything that would help them enter. "I can't believe we're breaking into a prison" Douglas murmured, withholding himself from making any jokes. "Damn"

"We have no choice but to climb it" Sebastian noted. "What do we do about the wire?"

"We'll have to use a jacket" Amy breathed, "cover the wire so we don't get caught on it. Last thing we need is more injuries"

"Like your back?" Jake spoke up. "Can you even climb?"

Quickly the men turned their eyes onto Amy, becoming aware of her pained winces. Joey who still lay behind her gave her back a little push, helping her with his last bit of strength until she was standing on her own two feet. Her legs shook momentarily as little shock-waves went soaring through her nerves. A fire had been burning along her spine since the fall, easily ignored when the adrenaline was high but otherwise nearly crippling.

"It doesn't matter, we don't have a choice. I'm sorry Amy, but we can't stay out here. That place is our only hope now" Sebastian cut in.

"I understand"

Amy nodded and allowed her brothers to leave her side, both scaling to the top of the fence to throw their heavy jackets overtop the barbed wire. At first it appeared they were having difficulty keeping themselves from catching onto the sharp barbs as they pushed their way over, but with a little precision soon their feet were sturdily on the other side of the fence. Next to go was Jake who took a little longer to transfer to the next side, and lastly was Amy and Douglas who each found themselves fighting to hold their weight over the wire that threatened to push through the jacket's material.

With a soft thud they dropped to their feet, once again checking everyone over for bites or scratches before they continued on. It seemed the prisons courtyard was empty, though well taken care of. The grass only grew wild in separate areas, a sign of a gardener or caretaker still living. Amy stockpiled the information as they came upon a group of bodies that lay in a separate fenced area, locked away and slowly turning to compost.

"Do you think there's anyone living in here?" Douglas voiced his mind, nervously rubbing at his arms.

"We won't know until we get further inside" Amy answered. "No guns, no noise. Jake, stay in the back. If something happens, run. We use only knives from here on out"

Jake quietly took the order and moved himself to the back of the group, eyeing the heavy metal doors that kept them out. Small lock pads maintained each area from the other, done up with chains that sent a chill of regret through the group. He wondered if they were walking to their deaths.

"I hope there's some weapons in there" Joey scratched at his chin, "or food. I won't complain if there's food"

Douglas, who recognized the boys attempt at lightening the mood, gave a gruff laugh, "You always complain, man!"

"This **is** true" Joey chuckled, smiling at his sister who had been working on breaking the lock with her knife. Missing a few times and forcefully jamming the blade into her palm with a curse and a cut.

When the chains fell down to the ground, the five carried on, silenced with the unknown. There was no light inside, only cement and the smell of rotted eggs and compost that became more pungent the farther in they went. It was difficult moving without a flashlight, but they hoped they would hear anything before they felt it.

When the hallway finally opened up into a room and light poured in from a high-placed window, they heaved a sigh of relief. It looked to be a work-out room for the prisoners, and with luck, completely empty.

"This place feels weird," Douglas commented, "like… too easy? I just don't feel right"

Joey scoffed and gave the older man a shoulder pat, gently removing his palm when he received a glare. "It's just your imagination."

"Nah man," Douglas pushed away, "We haven't seen no' hide or tail of prisoners, or even any guards. Hell, I ain't lain eyes on any of those things either. Something's wrong"

"Maybe it was cleared out when the infection started; I'm sure there were riots. Maybe everyone's already left?" Sebastian offered his input as he strode around the rusted gym-equipment.

"Through what, a magic door with an exit sign?"

Sebastian gave a shrug of his high shoulders, his neck nearly disappearing with the action. "I don't know—"

"Who the hell are you?" An unfamiliar voice broke out from the shadows.

Turning and nearly tripping over her feet Amy caught sight of a black man who almost doubled the size of Douglas, wielding an old rusted hammer. He moved hesitantly into the light, revealing muscles coated in dirt and sweat. A faded black tank hung from his torso and a light grey beanie hid away the hair atop his head. With a quick examination of his state of dress, the thick cargo pants that held to his hips with a fastened leather belt, Amy knew he was _not_ the one maintaining the prisons grass fields. This assumption quickly led her to its final destination. They weren't alone, and surely, there was a much bigger group inside the prison walls than just this singular man.

"Survivors" Sebastian yelled when no one answered the stranger's question.

"How did you get in here?" The man asked. Hammer still clutched tightly between his fingers. "Are any of you bit, scratched?"

"No!" Sebastian spoke for his group, hands gently lifted in the air as a sign of peace. "We climbed the fence—we've been running for so long. We don't mean any harm—"

"Yeah, well look, this isn't the nicest place to be. I say you climb right back over that fence before you're thrown over it"

"Please" Jake begged as he moved forward, tripping and falling over a lone butterfly machine. "Ouch" he cried, feeling the humiliation more than the pain.

"It's not my call," the man tried to let them all down easily, "look…this prison isn't ours."

"There are more of you?" Douglas spoke up, eagerly stepping forward only to halt when the stranger retreated back. "Look, we're the same as you man, just trying to stay alive. Please, don't send us back out there"

"Name's Tyreese," the stranger introduced after a long thoughtful pause, "follow me"

Slowly the group followed him through the twists and turns, desperate to find out what sort of situation they had run into. Tyreese seemed quite on edge at having new guests, five individuals that could easily over-power him should their desire run south. He had already spotted the few weapons that littered the group; each much more destructive then his little hammer would ever be.

At first he had planned to simply let them be; perhaps they would have met their own end at the hands of the prisons inmates, but he couldn't. Tyreese was not the kind of man to harm another, to cut someone else's life short before their time came. He was a man of good faith in others, even though he had not experienced much in return the past few months. It was how his mother had raised him. 'A spoonful of sugar is better than vinegar' she would say, 'you want butterflies, not the flies'

"What are your names?" He asked as walked, a limp barely noticed.

"My name is Amy," she introduced, waving a hand to her brothers as she called their names, "That is Sebastian and Joey, my brothers. This is Jake," he gave a short-abrupt wave, "And that is Douglas."

"It's nice to meet you," Tyreese spoke kindly. "It's been awhile since we've seen anyone else"

"I know the feeling" Amy flashed a charming smile in his direction. "If you don't mind me asking, _Tyreese_… but, how many people are in here? I saw the grounds were maintained, and… and there doesn't seem to be any more of those monsters out there"

"Monsters" Tyreese bit the inside of his cheek, "Is that what you call them?"

Sebastian, who had been taking careful watch of their route, finally spoke-up. "Is there a better name for them?"

"Others here call them Walkers" He answered.

Walkers, Amy thought, what a _creative_ idea. "But what of—"

"There are four of us, including myself," Tyreese interrupted, noting how anxious the woman was becoming as she scratched at her arms and nervously eyed his hammer, "And there are others. I don't know how many, but they were here first… their leader, he—uh, doesn't want us here."

"So what," Jake snapped, "That's whose going to throw us over the fence?" he quoted Tyreese's earlier words.

"Yea," he nodded, "but it'll be okay… we're good people… you're—well, we'll find a way"


	5. Chapter 5

_Quite a shorter chapter (I have my reasons for this), but to be followed by a much longer one (chapter six).  
Next chapter marks the entrance of our favorite Atlanta survivor's. That means our favorite Leader is close behind! Not much farther folks!_

* * *

"They have guns, weapons!" Allen screamed, "Did you even use your head?"

Amy winced as she tried to keep her younger brother in line, clinging to the cloth of his shirt. She needed to sit down and rest, but the electricity in the air between Tyreese's group and her own did not afford any luxuries. "_Please_ Joey! You are not helping this!"

"Maybe I should just take your fucking head off now then!" Joey shouted back, unable to hear his sister clearly through the rage boiling in his brain.

"Joey!" She tried once more only to find herself thrown to the cement floor as Allen crossed the room to get at her brother. His fist swung into Joey's mouth and soon enough the younger man was spitting blood at his feet.

"That's enough!" Sasha cried; she had been introduced as Tyreese's younger sister earlier, and though she was a thin woman, she was packed with a fighter's soul. "This is not helping **any** of us!"

Tyreese took action as he forced his friend away from the youngest Adler; staring the sandy haired man down with a look of raw authority. "We're on thin ice as it is. Let's not cause any more trouble here"

Allen pursed his lips and jerked himself free of Tyreese's hold. As happy as it would have made him to splatter the blood of the smart-mouthed brunette all over his blue button-down, he was not prepared to join in any combat with Tyreese. He had his son to think about, and while the intimidation level had been set high from the four extra males, he had already picked out their weakest link. All he had to do was buy his time.

"Then hand over your guns," He ordered the group of five, "I'm not risking my sons life"

Tyreese turned an eye onto his sister to judge her reaction; with a small nod she quietly agreed with their companion. It was the safest course of action to remove any threats and keep an even playing field, at least for now.

"Alright, can you do that?" Tyreese turned an eye to the eldest Adler.

In answer Sebastian began placing his weapons onto the only table in the jail-cell, eager to end the hostile environment surrounding them. When his family and friends hesitated he gave a short jerk of the head, urging them to follow his directions. Slowly the group detached themselves of their guns and knives, nervous to be losing the only thing they had for protection.

Allen, defused and pleased at having won part of the battle, limped to sit down at the table. Light green eyes taking in the extensive amount of metal, his mind churning with thoughts. His long lean face was slowly thinning from the lack of nutrition, and his son too was suffering. Ben, who was too young to grow any facial hair, could not hide the way his body was deteriorating. With these weapons however, Allen could change all that. They could surely handle the prisons other occupants now and Tyreese would be unable to question him. What would a one-legged man, a child and a girl be able to do when faced with these weapons?

Even their crazed leader would have to fall to his whims. Though he had to admit, the man frightened him. He was unpredictable and though Tyreese and Sasha maintained that the man would be convincible, Allen knew better. The prison was to be **theirs**, and now with a gun he could overtake anyone in his way.

"Look, we need to warn you now. We may not be allowed to stay here much longer" Sasha spoke, her voice low and non-threatening. "There is another group here; they are nice people but—"

"But their leader is uh—well, he doesn't want us here" Tyreese finished.

"Why not," Jake asked, moving consciously closer to the table to keep an eye on the older sandy-haired man. "**You** do something wrong?"

Allen immediately snapped his head up to glare at the strange looking fellow, "You have a problem with me?"

Jake who knew better than to pick a fight he couldn't win, lifted his hands up in surrender. "No problem here. Just asking"

"Yeah well _ask_ somewhere else," Allen was in no mood to deal with children pretending to be adults. He hadn't put up with it when Donna had been alive and he certainly wasn't going to do so now.

"Why doesn't he want you here?" Amy asked the other siblings, determined to keep the situation calm.

Sasha gently pulled on the thin brown shirt that layered overtop a dirty white tank, the right shoulder falling down her creamy-brown skin. She was a beautiful woman, Sebastian observed, with an angular face and thin eyebrows. She shared the same nose as her brother, such as larger nostrils that flared when she was angry or frightened. But Sasha was calm and exuded a strengthening aura; Sebastian noted that his gut tingled upon each flutter of her eyelashes.

At first she looked to her brother to answer, once more pulling on her shirt that clung to her thin hour-glassed figure. Then when he failed to find the words she turned an apologetic smile towards Amy. "He's lost a lot of people… said he doesn't want to be responsible for anyone else"

Amy bit her lip in thought and quietly digested the information. Beside her Douglas adjusted his stance, taking in the new group and their tired appearance. "And what if we're all forced to leave? What then?"

Tyreese looked to his sister and then to Allen. They had already tried surviving out in the open with the walkers; they had lost twenty-one people along their journey this way. Would he really go back out there to risk his sister's life once more? What about Allen and his son? He had already lost Allen's wife Donna. His hands trembled at his sides.

"It won't happen. We'll find a way to cooperate with them"

Douglas scratched at his short beard and turned to examine the female Adler. Still standing on shaky legs and quickly paling, he knew she was in no shape yet to be leading them. "Then allow us to cooperate with you," he turned his eyes back to Tyreese, "We both have injured and I know we can be stronger as a team."

"We're just going to let this happen?" Allen spat, forcing his self to stand only to have his raven-haired son rush forward to sooth him back into his seat. "We don't even know them"

"They surrendered their weapons," Sasha spoke, "I trust them."

"That's all I needed to hear" Tyreese gently smiled, turning to face the five strangers who he was to welcome with open arms.


	6. Chapter 6

_A nice long chapter that was held-up because of my work schedule.  
I want to send a **huge** thank you to my sweet reviewers and followers. Have I told you yet that I love you?  
I love you. :)  
_

* * *

Over the course of the day Amy had found her place within the newly formed group, easily connecting with Sasha and forming a delicate comradeship with Tyreese. Being a pair of sisters, the women shared a few laughs and tried to keep the air around them light. Though it felt unnatural they discussed the humidity that had done a number on Sasha's hair, and the fear they had first felt when the infection had started.

Sasha had told her of a neighbour who had built a bunker in his backyard, terrified of the apocalypse and preparing himself for any and all kind of disasters. They had stayed underground for months, and after finally coming up for sunlight, they witnessed the change of the world. The conversation had dripped off from there, until the sound of jingling keys caught Amy's ears.

"Tyreese?" called an old scratchy voice. The thump of wood hit the ground in a slow tempo, a slow pace from whoever was coming forward. Soon the jail-cell door was being unlocked and swung open, crashing against the wall before sliding right back into place.

A young boy stood there, a ring of keys in his hand and a sheriff's hat atop his mop of dark acorn hair. Dressed in a dirty brown long-sleeve, that desperately needed a good washing, Amy deduced that the boy couldn't have been older than thirteen; still holding onto his baby-fat with a scattering of freckles on his cheeks. He narrowed his frosty blue eyes on the new occupants and turned to look at the white-haired man behind him. Immediately Amy took in the missing leg and the crutches. This was the man she had heard moving. He reminded her of a Santa Clause impersonator, with kind aged eyes and a fat squishy nose.

Tyreese quickly grabbed the back of a chair and rushed it over to the aging man. "Hershel," he greeted. The old man kindly took the offered seat and turned a wise eye onto the new prison occupants.

"These friends yours?" he asked, upturning an eyebrow at the black man. "How did they get in here?"

Tyreese nervously looked over at the group, moving to stand before the seated man to plead a case. "They climbed over the prison fence; they mean no harm."

"Climbed, did yah?" Hershel heaved a sigh. Every day that wore on he was beginning to feel less and less secure in the prison. "Avoided that wire, I see?"

"We used our jackets," Joey informed him as he crossed the length of the floor to stand by Tyreese's side. "My name is Joey, sir"

Amy balked at the manners her brother was exuding; Hershel however, began to look rather pleased. He seemed to be a caring individual and instantly, she knew where Tyreese's faith lied. This was the man who contained their only hope at staying inside the prison; the only reason Tyreese's group hadn't been thrown out previous to their own arrival.

"Good name, Joey. I knew a Joey once…" He complimented, "And your company?"

Joey turned sideways to point a finger at Jake who stuck close to Douglas' side, "That there is Jake and Douglas," he then pointed at his brother and sister, "Those are my siblings, Sebastian and Amy"

"Hello, sir" Amy gave a gentle swoop of her head before turning back to examining the small boy in the corner. She felt swells of hope as she stared at the boy and his stern features; for someone so young to be surviving, it was a miracle. She wondered where his parents were. Surely this man wasn't his relative, their features were nothing alike.

Sebastian too gave his brisk greetings, too on edge to speak any more. His tongue felt as if it were swelling up inside his head, tasting like metal and feeling as dried out as a hollow tree. He knew his sister would find the words that he was lacking, easily taking over the situations that he couldn't handle. She always did.

Hershel gave a great heave of a sigh and hung his head low. "I'm afraid I don't have good news for you all," he started. "Especially now"

Amy bit into the side of her cheek, wincing when she tasted her own coppery blood. This man was preparing his self to evict them; all before getting to know any of them and then they would be thrown out to the monsters… those _walkers_. "Please" she begged, "Please let us change your mind"

Hershel laid a tender hand onto his thigh, staring down at the missing limb. He could still feel his foot, twitching and itching where it no longer was. The feeling nearly brought him to tears when he was alone, preparing to steel himself for the next day's events. As strong a man as he was, Hershel was not a man strong enough to turn those in need away. After caring for Allen's injured leg, and stitching a few head-wounds on Ben, he wondered if he could allow these people to go out and face everything he had. How his mind would always linger, wondering about what had happened to them. Perhaps Allen would lose his leg as well, and maybe he wouldn't be so lucky to survive.

Would Ben stay with his father throughout it all, just as his own daughters had for him?

Would Allen's son wait until the very last moment, only to suffer through an agonizing death in the end?

And what would become of the new residents? They appeared tough and well-centered, but they were young. The boy, Joey couldn't have been much older than his daughter Maggie. Even the other girl, Amy looked to be close in the mid-twenty range. What about the older brother, what was his name… Sebastian? Yes, Sebastian. Would he be forced to watch his family perish after being sent away?

The inner turmoil was nearly too much for Hershel to take. Perhaps if he tried speaking to _him_ again, maybe after some time out in the fields he would see sense and then Hershel wouldn't be facing such a heartbreaking decision. "We'll give you some food… maybe you can stay for a couple days longer… we'll see." He offered. It was all he could do.

Behind him the young boy began to impatiently jangle his keys, a sign the older man took to stand. Tyreese helped him gently as he set himself back into his crutches. "Thank you" he whispered and then they were locked away once more.

"I don't understand" Douglas spoke, "He seems like a teddy-bear kinda' guy. Where does this 'thrown over the fence' attitude come from?"

Tyreese turned a dark eye over to the other man. He wasn't sure how to explain his first meeting with the other group's leader; it had been such a surreal experience that he had been trying his best to convince himself that it had never even happened.

"Their leader," Allen spat, "came in here to tell us to 'fuck off' and next thing we know he's flashing his gun everywhere and screaming at us to leave. We ran in here, only safe area from those creeps and now we're forced to wait some shit sentencing!"

"It will be fine," Tyreese soothed, hands always on the move as he waved Allen's words off. "Their group wants us here. They tried making a case for us, so we just have to wait until they break him down"

"And if they don't?" Sebastian spoke, voice coming out clear and stern. "I hate to say it, but I'm not getting fed to the lions just because **one** guy has a problem."

Amy quickly turned on her brother, eyes blazing and lips pursed. She knew her brother loved speaking his mind, but to blatantly state such a thing aloud! It felt like he was already speaking of mutinying against a situation he truthfully knew nothing about. She trusted the words of Tyreese, and after meeting Hershel she believed there truly was hope in coming to a pleasant agreement with the other group; all it took was a little communication and integrity on their part. There was nothing they could do if they weren't all ready to work together as one well-oiled machine.

"It won't come to that if we don't allow it," Amy spoke before anyone else got the chance. "Talking like they're the enemy is the wrong way to start. Let's give them the time they asked for and work on us first"

"And what do you expect us to do?" Allen coughed into his arm, a chill running down the length of his back. He hated cold weather, and he especially hated the lack of heat in the prison. "Prance around and throw ourselves at their feet?"

Amy drummed her fingers against her hips, trying to keep the mood from souring. It was obvious to her that Allen was to become a thorn in her side, but if she ignored him long enough she hoped he would eventually burn out. "We show them what we can do for them"

"Amy, in case you haven't noticed," Joey began pacing, "We have nothing to 'show'"

Sasha suddenly bounded over to the youngest Adler, fiercely eyeing him down. "Oh but we do!" she turned to face Amy, "You're right! They have a huge field out at the front of the prison. And a baby—"

"A baby?" Amy exclaimed, mouth hanging open in a mock 'O' fashion. Someone had birthed a child during this apocalypse?

"Yes," Sasha smiled fondly, "We can help them with care—fetch supplies when they need it, help them with repairs, gardening?"

"Shoot some walkers?" Jake teased, "Put some sugar on their cupcakes? It's all great ideas, but how is that going to convince them to let us stay if they don't want us?"

The group found themselves silenced before Ben spoke, his voice timid and rough; a first, as he had remained stoic by his father's side since their arrival. "Perhaps we should **make** them need us?"

Tyreese started, having obviously heard a similar speech before, "We're not" only for Sebastian to quickly interrupt him, interested in what the quiet teenager had to say; "Please, let him continue"

Ben, an awkward and lanky fellow looked to his father for reassurance before he continued, "There's tons of walkers in the tombs. They keep filing in every day, roaming and taking over… eventually, we'll either be locked in or locked out unless we whack 'em down… how much longer are they going to be able to fight for without our help?"

"You're saying we just **hope** for a bunch of those monsters to find their way in, overrun the other group and casually come in to save the day like some bloated superman?" Amy appeared stunned for a moment before her mind took over. "No."

"No?" The boy blinked in surprise. He had thought his idea was a good one. "But if we left the door open on our side they would fill in here eventually! It wouldn't be long before they would have to come out!"

"And what do we do with ourselves? Cling to the fucking ceiling?" Joey spat, "Fuck kid. Worst idea in history"

"We wait and we hope." Amy finalized, looking over to Tyreese as he nodded in consent. He didn't want to have to risk his life to trick others into sparing his.

Soon days went by, the group continuing to get to know one another and discussing new plans and operations. Amy found herself enjoying the company of new faces more and more, creating interest in Ben's life and even trying to build a bridge of friendship with Allen who all but reluctantly accepted her presence. More than once Hershel had dropped in, always with the young key-holder and a few times with a young Korean man named Glenn. He had been stern and straight with them, eager to discuss how they had found their way inside the prison and making plans to refortify the building.

Hershel would feed them little packs of crackers and canned beans, apologetic at the small amounts but pleased when they gratefully ate all of the contents without complaint. Yet the ever elusive leader was no-where to be found. A few times Amy had tried asking about him, but Tyreese squashed her comments with a quick and firm shake of the head. He had made it clear to her over a short span of time that he wanted things done his way, if only until they were accepted and then the reigns were to be handed over. Joey was the least pleased with this, but had relented after a few steely glares from his sister.

Still the worry of their predicament was becoming stronger. As nice as it was to slink into a bed protected by jail-celled doors, nothing could shake the elephant in the room. On Hershel's last visit he had informed them that their leader had been informed upon the new additions, and Tyreese worried about his reaction. What would become of them upon his second review?

"Are you okay?" Sasha whispered to her brother, gently laying a hand on his shoulder.

Tyreese shook his head slowly and looked to his group's newest additions. "I'm fine" he soothed his sister, "I'm just worried Sash"

Smiling she leaned her body into her brothers side, gently nudging him. "It will be okay" The brother and sister shared a quiet temporary reprieve. For the first time since their arrival at the prison, Allen had quietened his complaints to a dull murmur. It had been nice, the silence it brought about.

Nervously her brother fidgeted his hands before bringing up the question that had been on his mind for days, "Do you think we can survive out there again?"

Sasha frowned and observed their group. Both Amy and Allen had been limping around for days now, though the former had been progressively healing. Ben had taken to scowling and sulking in the corner, while Jake and the Adler's brothers sat near the table that still housed their weapons. They were all fighters, all struggling to keep it together for someone else.

"Yes, I do" she answered. "Just look at them all. We'll be okay if worst comes to worse"

Tyreese appreciated his sister's honesty and opinion, allowing warmth to overtake him that promised hope and security. Wrapping an arm over her slender shoulders, Tyreese held Sasha close to his body. "Thank you" he pressed a gentle kiss into her auburn frizz.

"I'm tired of waiting around" Jake huffed, his shoulders deflating. "We should be planning our next move"

Sebastian sighed and rubbed at his coppered hair, irritated at more than its growth. "_Jake,_" he stressed the younger man's name, his brow tightening.

"No," Jake barked back, "We have to be realistic! You agree with me, don't you J.J?"

Joey gently leaned his back against the wall and roughly scrubbed at his face with his large hands. The stress was becoming too much. He needed to get some air.

"Joey?" Jake repeated, his beady eyes staring his friend down, "J.J?"

Sliding down to his bottom, Joey held his head in his heads and felt himself shake. "I don't know" he spit onto the ground, trying to rid his mouth of the sudden onslaught of saliva.

"What's going on?" Sebastian worried, noticing the greening of his brother's skin.

"Sick" he answered and spat once more onto the cement. "I'm gonna puke—fuck" As he spoke his final words, the boy began to heave and empty his stomach of its contents. Sebastian was quick to rub his little brother's back soothingly, calling their sister over for help.

Amy moved faster than she had since jarring her back, feeling the muscles loosening with each step. "Oh J.J" She cooed, shifting into a maternal-mode that had been instilled into her upon her birth.

Joey retched and choked, embarrassed that he had been unable to hold his stomach contents down. Sticking close to their brother's side, Sebastian was the first to look up when the cell-door was slammed open. An unfamiliar man stalked in; closely followed by the three males they had met with previously. He looked to of been close in age to Sebastian, with dark long locks that lightly curled from the grease, sweat and humidity that clung to his body. His blue eyes were filled with an unknown tremor, and his lips were set in a thin ruler-straight line.

The power the man exuded was startling, but that wasn't what sent Sebastian to the table. Ready to defend his self as the man stalked further into the room, shoulders set and hand at his waist where a gun rested in its holster. It sent alarm bells ringing in the Adler's brain; this man was like a tortured snake, waiting for the opportune moment to strike.

Douglas took to Sasha's side, eyeing the man in the dark plaid shirt. The way he moved commanded authority; it was easy for him to tell that the assumed leader had been in the position of power for quite some time. It came natural.

"Get out." The man ground his teeth, staring Tyreese down.

"Now Rick," Hershel spoke up behind him, "Please think this through"

Glenn who stood close to the door with the elder and key-holder, nervously shuffled his feet. Keeping his chocolate coloured eyes on his leader; the sight of this frightened Douglas to his very center. Why were they so terrified of a man that was supposed to be keeping them alive?

"I want you all out. Right now" Rick shouted his decision firm.

Allen who took notice of Sebastian's actions quickly pulled his son behind him and moved towards the hall entrance. If things went south, he wasn't going to be the one going down because of it.

Tyreese anxiously searched his mind for the words that would help them. "Please, at least let us stay in another area; you wouldn't even have to hear a word from us"

Rick's jaw was set as he took in each individual until he caught site of the stupid jackass closing in on him with a gun. Instantly his reactions took over and he was staring the man down with the barrel of his gun. He knew their quiet nature was too good to last; he should have gotten rid of them when he first learned about their whereabouts.

"Sebastian!" The brunette female cried, looking up from where she sat rubbing another man's back. "What the hell are you doing?"

Rick wondered the same thing, just what was this idiot doing? Did he really take Rick for such a fool?

"I'm not leaving this place," Sebastian refused to lower his gun. "I'm not losing anyone else"

Rick's thoughts ran to his son, bravely protecting the door and the rest of his group. As much as his heart wanted to reach out for the poor fool, nothing was going to stand in the way of his duty. "Put down the gun!" He snapped.

Sebastian continued to ignore all requests, moving closer to the man until his sister separated from Joey to put herself between the two men and their toys. "That's enough! Sebastian, put the gun down!"

"Amy, he'll have us thrown out!"

"Damn right I will," Rick hissed, "You're holding a fucking gun at my head!"

Tyreese edged forward, anger and foolish pride flooding through his system as he thought that in the end it would have been Allen to be making such a stupid attempt, but here Sebastian was, ruining it for all of them.

"Everyone just calm down," Douglas hushed the group and held his hands out before him. "We've been a little antsy, but there's no need to turn on each other now"

Sebastian looked into the teary amber eyes of his sister, attempting to hold his ground until she mouthed at him to lower his gun. With the other man's hand-gun aimed at the back of her head, he knew that so long as she stood in the middle, there would be no bloodshed on his end. He had to give in and accept his fate.

"Get the fuck out." Rick spat when his opponent had lowered his arm. He was grateful for the anti-climactic turn of events, but knew in his gut that there was much left unfinished.


	7. Chapter 7

_If you spot any writing errors in this update, just let me know and I'll go back to fix it. I've spent three days pouring over this till my head thumped.  
It was worth it though, especially for the sweet reviews previous, from a Guest and Leyshla Gisel. Xox._

_You're all the sweetest. Enjoy._

* * *

The sun was shining up high in the cloudless ocean, simmering down on their skin and heating up a trail of sweat down their backs. Amy wished she could feel relief as she moved slowly, keeping Joey right-side up at her side. They had been led out into the open, their sentence final and made without question. While she wanted desperately to change the prison occupants minds, Amy knew better. Tyreese had been furious with her brother, and had taken to whispering harshly with his sister about their next order of operation, shooting a look of murder in Sebastian's direction.

It made Amy's skin crawl and muscles tense. Earlier she had trusted Tyreese, pegged him as a good wholesome man who cared for others well-beings. Willing to risk his own skin for a stranger, but now that faith had been shattered. Their truce and alliance had been broken, and they were quickly falling apart. How would they handle being back out in the open, struggling to survive together?

Joey whined pitifully at her side, tenderly pressing his cheek against her shoulder, hunching down to keep their heights balanced. "_Amy_… I think I ate some bad beans."

"It's okay J.J" she rubbed at his back. "It will pass."

Sebastian glanced over his shoulder, catching his sister's worried gaze before he turned back around. Douglas, who was strolling by his side, watched the interaction with mild fascination. Commenting with a tone devoted to irk the other man, "Soon as we're through that gate… games on again. Think you can handle it?"

Sebastian scowled at his friend, keeping his eyes straight ahead to the gate before them. Glenn was waiting, a shotgun in his right hand and a look of pure conviction on his face. He had wanted them gone the moment news of their arrival had reached him, this much Sebastian knew. "Of course"

"Then why," Douglas started, staring up into the clear sky above, "am I not convinced?"

The two let the answer hang between them for a moment. "I don't want us to leave this prison…" Sebastian admitted, "But there's nothing we can do now"

"Maybe not," Douglas agreed, blinking the sunrays out of his dark orbs, "but you need to fix things with the others and soon. Otherwise we'll be facing more than those monsters out there"

"I was trying to help"

"I know—but you didn't. Now we need a plan C" Douglas stressed, now pausing in his step to look back at the rest of their group. He could hear the Korean man shouting for them to keep moving, and as his friends and new-found acquaintances passed him, he found himself unable to listen. Up ahead at the first gate they had been taken from; a completely different entrance than the one they had first arrived from, he spotted the arrogant leader. He was stiffly waiting for their removal, unable to relax until the locks had been closed.

"Douglas!" Amy called to him, having made it to the gate. "Hurry—"

As Douglas turned to face the brunette he found himself facing an oncoming bullet, falling down to his knees before crumpling to the ground. "DOUGLAS!" Amy screamed in absolute horror.

Suddenly everyone was scattering, some ducking and holding themselves against the cool grass as a shower of ammo rained down upon them. There were loud voices, screams and a succession of loud heavy footsteps that were quick to take over the gate. The locks were forced off with large bolt cutters, and quickly the linked fence was decimated.

Amy felt her heart beating dangerously in her chest as she watched people in paintball masks stomp inside the courtyard, dressed to the teeth in plastic body armor and wielding sawed-off shotguns or pistols. Some moved clumsily, nearly tripping over their own two feet while others were much more agile and quickly made their way to the top of the prison gates.

"Amy!Fucking do **something**!" Joey cussed beside her, flattening his body against the ground. There, she saw it. His gun tucked in behind the logo on the back of his jeans.

Wrapping her slim fingers around the metal grip of the gun, Amy brought her eyes down the barrel to the sight, taking aim at a nearing individual who had taken an interest in Jake. Briefly holding her breath and exhaling as she squeezed the trigger, she watched the individual fall to the ground, a pool of blood quickly collecting around their body in a moon-shaped circle.

Near her, Sebastian too had taken a hold of his pistol and began a relentless assault against whoever caught his eye. His eyes were a storm, boiling over with fresh rage and tears. He couldn't bring himself to look upon his closest friend's fate, too frightened to see the truth that he desperately wanted to deny.

Bodies fell and Amy covered her brother's head with her body, watching as the armoured individuals found their way up to the prison. "Amy! What's going on! Amy!" Joey cried underneath her, sweating profusely from fever and freight. "What happened to Douglas?"

She couldn't answer him. Not when she spotted her friends body lying still in the grass, arms flat by his sides. Where had he been hit? Was he still alive?

"Move behind the car!" Glenn screamed as he fired shots off into the distance.

Amy looked to her left and spotted a turned over van, its back-doors taken off and bolted to the side for helpful coverage. It didn't take a moment's hesitation for Amy to tear her brother by the back of his shirt for the offered cover. As she hit the side of the van and kneeled her way to the ground she heard Jake's calls for help. An increasing and overwhelming fear hit her gut as she thought of him being harmed like Douglas.

"What's happening?" Joey shouted in his sister's ear, determined to understand their predicament. She rounded on him quickly, "I don't know! Just stay here!"

"Amy!" he cried after her, reaching out for her retreating back.

She was gone in a flash, travelling through the grass until she reached Douglas's body that rested only a few feet away from the van. Jake was close to her now, bloody hands holding onto the small handgun as if it were his last hope of survival. He couldn't take his small eyes off of the scene before him.

Up at the prison he could see people firing at each other, uncaring of the noise and the calamity it would bring upon them. It was like a scene straight out of a John Dillinger movie. Jake's stomach turned as he looked to Amy for instruction. Her eyes however were glued to the body below her, fingers gently prodding at the man's back. Jake knew of his fate, Douglas had bled out by the time he had reached him and taken his gun. Too heavy to roll over, Jake had forgone looking into his friends eyes and had instead taken to keeping a safe distance in an attempt to forget what was happening.

"Amy" he called to her. "Sebastian went up to the prison"

Her attention snapped to him almost immediately, no longer trying to awaken her friend. She couldn't see anyone up at the prison's entrance, but she could hear the struggle. People were moving around her like ants and when she took a second to focus, she could spot Ben (curled up on the ground) and his father trying desperately to move his teenage son to the spot she had left Joey in. Tyreese had replaced Glenn at the fence, holding onto the metal and using his hammer to smash away monsters that came close. He appeared to be using his self as the brand new lock in place of Glenn who was making his way up to the prison.

But where was Sasha? Was she with her brother up at the prison? Trying to fend off these attackers?

"Go to the van, stay with Joey" she ordered Jake, "anyone comes near you. Stop them"

Jake bobbed his head, nervously eyeing the female. "You're not going up there, are you?"

"If Sebastian is up there, then yes" she told him honestly, "now get your ass moving"

Taking one last look down at her friend, Amy blinked back her tears and soldiered on. The first person to catch her eye was a young woman, whose mask had been ripped off to reveal a clean complexion and soft feminine features. Her eyes however were set in a wild glaze, arms swinging and digging nails into Glenn's flesh. She was snarling like an animal, screaming at him and trying to grab at his weapon. Amy was quick to smash the butt of her gun into the back of the woman's head, ignoring the look of apprehension on Glenn's face when he caught sight of his assistance.

People were shouting all around her, the sound of bullets nearly deafening. Glenn moved away first, screaming for a woman named 'Maggie' who had been shielding herself behind a few barrels. It was difficult for Amy to pick out who has not apart of the prison group and who was really attacking them, and so she tried to make her way throughout the chaos until she spotted the leader, Rick. His eyes were set in determination as he fired a shot off into the head of an unknown assailant.

Still, Amy could not find her brother amongst the chaos, but there close to Rick's side stood Sasha. Back ramrod straight, and arms poised perfectly to fend off any attack with a heavy swing of a broken pipe. It appeared she had run to help before anyone had even hit the ground when the gunfire started.

"Behind you!" She yelled to Amy when she spotted the slender woman, eyes wild as she took in the hulking figure behind the other woman.

It was not enough time however for Amy to move, and quickly the figure had pushed the brunette to the ground, crushing her throat between engorged thumbs. Amy choked and desperately clawed at the hands restraining her until Rick's towering figure was standing over her, a smoking barrel in his hand. The figure above her went limp and timidly she pushed herself free.

"Amy," Sasha moved over to kneel at the woman's side, "are you okay?"

Amy gasped and nodded, gingerly rubbing at her neck. Above her Rick stood poised, briefly examining the dead man before his attention was stolen as another stranger moved in. He was running out of bullets, it wouldn't take long now until they were overpowered. There must have been at least twenty men and women inside their gates, all armed and slowly pushing his group back into the prison walls. But many of them were inexperienced, sloppily charging headfirst.

"Glenn! Move to the tower!" He barked his orders, watching the young man who had taken to hiding behind the barrels with his girlfriend. "I'll cover you!"

The man took his orders and ran across the courtyard, shooting down those in his way until he was sealed safely away behind a thick metal door. "Maggie!" Rick shouted again, this time at the woman who had been left behind. "Secure the gates!"

"Rick?" Sasha spoke up from behind, "What about the others? My brother is out there"

Amy quickly felt the sourness hit her. Tyreese was still at the front gates with her brother and Jake, fighting off the few monsters (or maybe she should start calling them walkers?) that lingered their way close by.

Rick ignored the woman's questions as he ushered them to remain close to the ground. "We'll deal with it after. There's five left—can you handle that?"

The two women shared a look of disdain. "Sure, but—" Sasha's words were cut short as a man appeared and reached for her, ducking her assault and swinging a fist into her face. He had been disarmed earlier, but was not ready to run away like some of the others had. He watched her fall back, her bent knees coming up to jab him in the stomach as he tumbled with her. A second woman, he hadn't noticed before wound her arms around his waist and forced him into a roll. She wheezed over-top of him, brown wavy locks brushing against his cheeks. She had a beautiful face, almost resembling a younger Rowan.

"I'll kill you!" he hissed, spittle flying from his opened lips.

Amy struggled with him before Rick interrupted, his voice full of authority, "Enough!" With a free hand he circled his fingers around the waistband of Amy's jeans and yanked her up by his side, and with his other he levelled the eye of his gun onto the Hispanic man's face. "This is **done**"

All at once Amy glanced around to see that the strangers had vanished, like a puff of smoke dissolving into the air. The young short-haired woman, Maggie was clinging desperately to the gate she had been told to lock; and up in the tower waited Glenn, a shotgun in his hands as he took in the scene all around them. A few others who were not known to her were huffing and puffing, wiping the sweat from their brows and tears from their eyes. How had they ended this battle so quickly?

"You're from Woodbury?" Rick questioned the man, finally releasing his hold on the Adler. "I've seen you"

The man spat at Rick's shoes, calmly watching as faces began surrounding him on all sides. People covered in grime and blood, with vengeful eyes; these were the monsters he had been told about, the ones who had let walkers into their town and killed his friends. He had sought out to put a stop to them with the few he could round up, but here they were. Still standing, and gloating now over their victory before his very eyes. Everything was their entire fault.

Rage boiled in his system and within moments he was lunging at the man who held him by gunpoint, trying to wrestle it free before he was knocked back and pushed into unconsciousness.

The group was silent for a moment before Glenn had made his way down from the tower to join at his significant others side. "We need to kill him"

"What?" Maggie turned to him, her short bob whipping against her face from the speed. "How can you say that?"

"After everything they've done to you?" He turned his scorching gaze upon her, "To us?"

Her gaze fell down and instantly Amy recognized the defeat in her shoulders as they slumped. Beside her stood a very young woman who looked to be stuck in her teens, light blonde hair pulled up high into a lengthening ponytail. She shared the same eyes as Maggie, but a teensier and upturned nose that must have been handed down to her from a pixie-like parent. She gently rubbed at Maggie's arm, a sign that she looked up to the woman; they must have been related in some way.

"No one's killing anyone!" Rick held his hands out to settle those around him. "Not yet. We can use him"

"Use him how?" Amy spoke up, separating herself from Sasha's side. "Is that the kind of people you are?"

"Amy no" Sasha hissed, grabbing at the other woman's arm to try and reel her in.

The thin brunette shrugged her off, setting an amber gaze upon the leader. "Is that why those people attacked you? Killed my" The thought struck her dumb. Oh Douglas, she had forgotten everything in the chaos.

Leaving the group to get to the gates she found arms holding her back, outcries that warned her not to touch the gate and invite anymore intruders in. But she could see through the linked chains, out into the open grassy field and down to the overturned van that her brother had hidden behind. "My family!" she choked out, "let me go! My family is out there!"

Sasha released her and bit into her bottom lip. "They'll make it up here—"

"They aren't coming in" Rick announced. "You shouldn't even be here" His shirt clung to his body from the sweat.

"Rick," the sweet-looking blonde whispered, "they helped us"

"No! No!" He shouted, suddenly gripping at his hair. "It's not—they're not staying!"

"It's okay," Sasha interjected. "We-we just want our friends. Amy? Where's Sebastian?"

The Adler still couldn't peel her eyes away from the grass that shook in the wind, her mind drifting down to the spot where Douglas had laid. "Open the gate" her voice shook and trembled. "Open the gate!"

A gunshot finished her sentence, the sounds of frightened men shouting in horror. Down below was Jake, a gun shaking between his fingers as he stared into the soulless eyes of his lost-friend. He hadn't ended it, but he couldn't. Not even when Douglas was snarling and descending upon him. The memories twisted his gut and wrenched at his aching heart.

"No… Douglas" he whispered. This was so much worse than he had originally feared. He knew his friend had perished when he had forced the gun out of his hand, but to see him return in such a way… And how had he returned? Was it that scratch he had over looked back at the corner store? "Please, D" the tears began to spill over. "Don't—don't"

The large figure that Douglas had once been moved forward, lips parted as he inhaled in a wheezing fashion. Blood covered his front, still pumping out from a hole in his chest. As he took step after step, Jake began to crumple to the ground. "No D!"

"Jake!" Joey hissed into his ear, the gun quickly trading hands before their friend was put to rest. As he fell from the second bullet to pierce his flesh, the boys tried desperately to convince themselves he was thanking them.

The ringing in Joey's ears drowned all else out until finally hands were being gently pressed against his hot forehead and pushing away the hair that had fallen over to shield his eyes. Tender lips pressed against his cheeks, a warm hug followed.

"Oh J.J" the voice whispered, coddling and comforting him. But his worries were not for himself. They were for Jake, a twenty-seven year old man who was crying desperately for the brand new loss.

"I'm sorry" Tyreese laid a hard hand on Jake's shoulder, looking over to the dead-man. "I'm fine" Jake roughly wiped the tears from his eyes, sniffling and turning in on himself. First they had lost Jenna and now Douglas, but why not him? After all the times he could have been killed, he had been spared while they have suffered and fallen.

Tyreese sighed and looked at the young woman who had run to her brother's side, screaming the whole way down. Still the eldest Adler remained missing, as did his own sister. Allen and Ben were still cowering by the safety the van provided, not yet ready to come back to reality.

"Where is Sasha?"

Amy glanced up to examine Tyreese. He looked exhausted, but more importantly, safe. "Up at the prison, she's pretty determined to stay here—even after... _all this_"

He figured as much. "And what of Sebastian, where is he?"

Her thick bushy hair shook from side to side, her brows drawing together. Joey, who had been struggling with his fever, looked to his sister with a look of child-innocence. By their side sat Jake, still unable to lift his head. "I'll go look…" Tyreese offered, "Then—"

"Then we leave." Amy finalized; unable to look away from her brother.

Upon Tyreese's return, his sister by his side, he had a look of pure importance upon his face. He had news to share with the group, though he wasn't sure how they were all going to take it. He hoped that they would all agree, however.

"Where's Sebastian?" Amy called as she looked at the oncoming figures.

"He's coming" Sasha answered, rubbing at her cold shoulders. "How is Joey?"

Amy smiled fondly down at her brother, still rubbing at his back. "He'll be okay. It looks like its food poisoning or something—"

"Yeah," Allen spat as he stepped towards the group, "'cause _they_ probably wanted us poisoned!"

Amy shook her head and huffed in annoyance. Since the gunfire had settled down, Allen had found his voice and all he had been able to spew was how disastrous the situation was. It was slowly digging under her skin, but over years of living with her brothers she had learned a great deal of patience. Jenna had been a great aid in this skill too.

"Listen, I spoke to Rick about what has happened" Tyreese started, kneeling down to check on Joey's fever. "We didn't get much information but… the people who attacked, they'll be back. They're holding two of them up there."

"What will they do with them?" Allen asked, thumbing the pockets of his jeans and rocking back onto the balls of his feet. "Why are we still here then?"

"They've offered us time to… to bury…" Sasha looked over at the lifeless form of Douglas, a wound visible from the back of his head.

Silence overfell them for a moment as Amy nodded appreciatively at the thought. They hadn't had time to bury Jenna, or to even go back for her; to do this for Douglas and have a moment to mourn was somewhat of a relief. "I'll go tell them" and Sasha was off, heading back towards the prison.

"We had to bury one of our own here as well"

"Don't talk about that" Allen hissed, stomping his way between Tyreese and the two kneeling Adlers. "Let's just get the fuck out of here"

"We'll let them bury Douglas first," Allen's eyes rolled as Tyreese spoke. "But we need someone to keep watching the gates. Walkers are arriving"

As if his words had rung the bell, moans drew their attention to the fence. The six survivors couldn't have felt more alone in that moment.


End file.
